1. #Thread on Peshwa Madhavrao - the Glorious Ornament of Maratha Empire
He became Peshwa this day 260 years ago. This thread forms the 1st part of two-part series on Peshwa Madhavrao.
2. 1745, Feb 16: Peshwa Madhavrao was born.
1761, Jul 20: Madhavrao becomes Peshwa at age of 16, with Raghunathrao (paternal uncle) as co-regent with Gopikabai, Madhavrao’s mother
3. Although Nizam had been humbled at Battle of Udgir (1760), the Maratha setback at Panipat (1761) had emboldened Nizam to invade Pune in Dec 1761. Nizam's army was surrounded by Marathas near Pune, and forced to cede territory to Marathas worth 40 lakhs.
4. 1762: Mysuru's Hyder Ali had been encroaching on Maratha lands since 1760. Madhavrao marched into Karnataka to stop Hyder Ali, then returned to Pune. Raghunathrao, the co-regent, decided to contest the post of Peshwa with 50k troops (including Nizam's), & marched to Pune.
5. Peshwa Madhavrao surrenders to Raghunathrao after skirmish at Alegaon in Nov. Raghunathrao assumes major power in the empire & gives Nizam most of the territory gained by Marathas at Udgir (1760)
1763: In retaliation to Nizam's wanton interference in Maratha politics, ..
6. Madhavrao attacked Nizam's territories. Nizam plundered Pune & Satara. By June, Madhavrao won over several chiefs of Nizam to his side by diplomacy. The hostility culminated in the decisive Battle of Rakshasbhuvan.
7. Battle of Rakshasbhuvan on 10 Aug 1763:-
Madhavrao proved his military acumen & courage through timely troop movements before, & during the battle. In stark contrast, Raghunathrao was seen as indecisive, & Madhavrao was made Peshwa again!
8. Nana Fadnavis was restored to office, with his brother Moropant Phadnis too. Peshwa Madhavrao met Mahadji Shinde to confirm services.
The trio of Madhavrao-Mahadji-Nana were vital to the Maratha State for the next 3+ decades till 1800.
9. 1764-65: Hyder Ali had pushed his borders upto Krishna river. In Sep '64, Madhavrao invaded Hyder Ali to get back the territories.
Marathas captured Dharwad fort & defeated Hyder Ali near Savanur. Madhavrao had called Raghunathrao to Karnataka with him. He took over peace ...
10. ..negotiations & took back territories north of Tungabhadra.
Meanwhile, historic events took place in the North! After emerging victorious in the European 7-Years-War, English had attained unchallenged naval supremacy. In '64, they defeated Mughals at Battle of Buxar.
11. In Aug 1765, the English signed the Treaty of Allahabad with Mughals. Awadh Nawab became English protectorate. English gained complete control from Allahabad to Bay of Bengal in effect.
1766: Peshwa Madhavrao had been keeping tabs on the English ingress into the subcontinent
12. The Peshwa allied Nizam in order to counter the English on one hand, and Hyder Ali on the other. He undertook campaign against Hyder Ali in Nov.
1767-68: In Feb, Marathas capture Sira Fort. On Mar 4, Madhugiri (Madgiri) fort was captured. Hyder Ali had imprisoned Rani of ...
13. ..Bednur & her son in that fort. Madhavrao rescued them & sent them to Pune for protection. After negotiating restoration of all territories by Hyder Ali to Marathas, Madhavrao returned to Pune to stop Raghunathrao's intrigues.
1770:Peshwa-Nizam alliance attacked Hyder Ali..
14. ..to check his expansion since past 2 years into Maratha territories. Marathas captured Bengaluru, Devraidurg (Tumakaru) & Kolar.
Till Aug, Hyder Ali was defeated multiple times by Marathas under Trimbakrao Pethe due to fresh supplies of heavy artillery & troops from Pune.
15. In the north, Marathas capture Agra, Mathura & Etawah till Dec '70.
In Dec, Madhavrao wrote an insightful letter to Ramchandra Ganesh & Visaji Krishna - generals dispatched to the north - showing his grasp of the political situation in N.India.
16. 'You all well know how disunity & self-seeking have ruined our interests in the past. You must realise that each one's personal interest is best served by working for the united good for all! The Peshwa shall amply award your individual merit.'
18. Najib Khan's Tomb was opened & his remains scattered!
In the south, Marathas utterly routed Hyder Ali in the Battle of Moti Talav (Mar '71), Hyder Ali fled to Shrirangapattan. Marathas conclude peace with Mysuru, & territory south of Tungabhadra was acquired by Marathas.
19. In the next part of the thread-series, we'll look at the aspects of political & administrative genius of Peshwa Madhavrao.
1. This is the second-part of the thread-series on the great Maharana Kumbha.
The first part of the series described the initial half of Maharana Kumbha's reign 👇 This part will describe his encounters with Gujarat Sultan & tackling the united invasions.
2. ~1421: Maharana Kumbha was born to Maharana Mokal Singh & Sobhagya Devi.
1433: Kumbhakarna became Maharana at age of 13, after Mahipal Panwar assassinated young Maharana Mokal. Mahipal fled Mewar & took refuge with Malwa’s Sultan Mahmud Khalji aka Alauddin Mahmud Shah-I.
3. Rao Ranmal Rathore was the regent of Mewar during the initial phase of Kumbha’s rule. He destroyed the internal rebels.
1439: Maharana Kumbha told Sultan Mahmud Khalji to deport Mahipal Panwar to Mewar for exacting the revenge of the murd3r of Maharana’s father.
1508, May 4: Maharana Sanga ascended on Mewar throne.
~1512-13: Maharana Sanga attacked and captured territories of eastern Rajasthan from Sikandar Lodi’s Delhi Sultanate
3. 1515: Maharana Sanga was a proactive strategist. To expand Mewar's influence into Gujarat, he helped its deposed ruler, Rao Raimal, become ruler again.
Muzaffarid Gujarat Sultan, Muzaffar Shah II sent 2 armies to Idar. Both of them were defeated by Idar's army.
2. After Raja Martanda Varma's ascension to the Travancore throne in 1729, he adopted expansionist policies through the 1730s (interestingly enough, simultaneously as Bajirao Peshwa's policy vs Mughals in the north).
3. The expansion of Travancore into central Kerala threatened the monopoly of the Dutch in black pepper trade. Dutch commander Maten sought to warn Raja Martanda.
But, he received a warning in return, not to interfere in politics of Malabar & stay restricted to trade activities.
2. 1503 CE: Prithviraj Kachwaha ascended the throne of Amer. His reign was marked by stability and progress for the Jaipur kingdom.
3. During his reign, he cultivated marital alliances with many neighbouring Rajput states. This contributed to making Amber a major regional political player.
Even the sister of Maharana Sanga was married to Prithviraj Kachwaha, thereby uniting with Mewar under Hindu banner!
2. Hyder Ali didn’t spare even girls of 4-5 years old, who were purchased on account of beauty to train them in music, dance and to give pleasure.
3. 1763: Hyder Ali fought with Rani of Bednur, Rani Virammaji. When people of Bednur heard about his attack, they fled to jungle. Hyder systematically looted Bednur. His loot was estimated 12 mn sterling.